Swiss Watch Exports Jumped. Pre-Owned Prices Barely Moved.

A Pryce House Pre-Owned Luxury Watch Brief · September 14, 2026

Swiss watch exports rose 9.6% in July from a year earlier, reaching CHF 2.63 billion. The number of wristwatches exported increased 6.8%, but the larger context is more restrained: exports for the first seven months of 2026 were only 0.9% ahead of the same period last year. The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry also cautions that these are shipments from manufacturers, not sales to final customers. Read the reported July export figures.

The growth was sharply divided. Exports to the United States increased 26.5%, while shipments to mainland China fell 18.5%. Watches with export prices above CHF 3,000 increased 12%, and the CHF 200-to-500 category rose 26.1% after four years of substantial declines. The middle of the market moved in the opposite direction: exports priced between CHF 500 and CHF 3,000 declined 3.9%.

The pre-owned market did not match the export surge. The WatchCharts Overall Market Index increased just 0.4% in August, even though 18 of its 28 tracked brand indexes finished the month higher. View the WatchCharts monthly dispatch.

The watch-business insight: More new watches entering a country does not automatically make every pre-owned watch more valuable. Manufacturer shipments, authorized-dealer sales and secondary-market prices measure different parts of the business. In the pre-owned trade, value remains highly specific to the reference, configuration, condition, originality, production period, service history and completeness of the individual watch. This is a more active market, but it is not a universal rise across every brand or model.

For assistance buying or selling a pre-owned luxury watch, visit the Pryce House Watch Cabinet.

Export figures are not retail sales figures. Pre-owned indexes describe selected watches and are not appraisals or offers for individual timepieces. This update is provided for general information only.